My daughter was diagnosed 3 weeks ago with Type 1 diabetes. She is doing
very well with her shots, one in the morning and one at dinner. Her doctor
said that the shots would not be painful because of the small needles and
the fact that insulin is naturally occurring in the body. However,
sometimes, my daughter says that the insulin "burns" as I give her the
shot. We keep the insulin in the fridge (per doctors orders). Any ideas
what causes this or how to prevent it? We have rotated between leg, arm and
stomach so far and each of these places has "burned" once or twice.

Answer:

Insulin that is stored in the fridge does burn. We recommend that the
insulin tha is currently being using be stored at room temperature and that
the bottles
be changed monthly. Or, try taking the insulin
out about an hour before you are going to give it and warm it to room
temperature with your hands just prior to giving it. Also, if the injection
site is not completely dry, some alcohol will go through the skin when the
needle is inserted. Make sure the site is dry or try eliminating the
alcohol entirely (if you're concerned about this, you can clean the site
with soap and water). A last alternative might be to ask your diabetes
team if you can use Emla cream at the site or "flush" the syringes with a
little local anesthetic.

Last Updated: Tuesday April 06, 2010 15:08:56
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